There’s a belief among business leaders that change is just a part
of growth. That might explain the history of Garden Fresh
Restaurant Corp., where there’s been no shortage of change or
long-term growth since Michael Mack and a partner purchased
two Souplantation restaurants in 1983.
The company operates a chain of casual dining restaurants that
go by the name Souplantation in Southern California and Sweet
Tomatoes elsewhere. Mack, the company’s co-founder and CEO,
has expanded the company to 109 locations in 15 states during that
time (the company doesn’t disclose revenue, but online estimates
put it at more than $100 million), but it was not without navigating
through a few twists and turns along the way.
In order to sustain growth over a quarter century, Mack’s list of
successful change management feats includes guiding the company through an initial public offering and then returning it back to
private status.
“At the time, going public was a viable option because it served
as a financing vehicle to support growth,” Mack says. “It worked
well for the first five years, but we expanded too rapidly, and we
compounded our problems by some missteps in pricing and
menu selection, and soon, our quarter-over-quarter performance
was uneven. At the same time, the public environment changed
with the advent of Sarbanes-Oxley. Very few businesses actually
function well quarter over quarter, so the next logical move for
us was a return to private status, which was a decision that also
made our shareholders and board very happy.”
While the road to sustained growth is never straight, Mack insists
that CEOs can navigate change successfully, by keeping everyone
on the team aligned with the CEO’s goals.
